The Conservative Citadel Ralph Lee Woodward
Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala, 1821-1871,
03/2012
Book Chapter
The return of Carrera in 1849 ushered in a new era in Guatemalan history. The 1840s had been tumultuous, with shifting allegiances and much political intrigue. It was a decade of transition from ...liberal to conservative domination of the country. While Carrera was the dominant figure, both before and after the Revolution of 1848, the nature of government in Guatemala changed notably with the style of the caudillo. Despite the persistent trouble in the montan̄a and some foreign adventures in the neighboring states, it was for the most part a period of stability and peace when compared to the 1840s.
Arada Ralph Lee Woodward
Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala, 1821-1871,
03/2012
Book Chapter
Consolidating his power at home also involved Carrera in affairs beyond the borders of Guatemala, for a genuine fear of his liberal opponents throughout the isthmus continued to preoccupy him. The ...relative strength and stability of Guatemala in comparison to its isthmian neighbors gave him the ability to play an important role in the development of the entire isthmus during the remaining years of his life. It is not our intention here to detail the events in the other Central American states, except as they affect Guatemalan development, but in general, the struggles between liberals and conservatives continued, often violently,
Conservatives and Liberals, 1821–1837 Ralph Lee Woodward
Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala, 1821-1871,
03/2012
Book Chapter
The political turmoil that would characterize Central America for a half-century following independence began almost immediately after the declaration of independence from Spain. Despite glowing ...promises of prosperity and progress expressed by independence proponents, unhappy times awaited the provinces formerly comprising the Kingdom of Guatemala. Instead of a united isthmian nation, a fragmented, feuding cluster of city states calling themselves “republics” had emerged by 1850. In this turmoil, conservative reaction and the caudillo Carrera came to play a formative role in the shaping of modern Guatemala.
Central American independence has attracted less attention than separation elsewhere in Latin America, for
The Transition to Liberalism Ralph Lee Woodward
Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala, 1821-1871,
03/2012
Book Chapter
Guatemala City celebrated Carrera’s fiftieth birthday with especially great zest in October 1864. The caudillo was still hardy, although he suffered stomach upset and pain. As usual, he spent much of ...the Guatemalan summer of 1864–65 in the warm Pacific lowlands of Escuintla, but in March 1865 he fell seriously ill. On the thirteenth he returned to the capital, where the principal physicians of the city attended him. His own physician, Dr. Francisco Aguilar, diagnosed the illness as dysentery. Dysentery had been a major killer in Guatemala, especially in the lowland regions, but a modern champion of Carrera’s has
Conservative Social Policy Ralph Lee Woodward
Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala, 1821-1871,
03/2012
Book Chapter
As with economic development, during the Carrera years the social development and control of the population fell largely to institutions outside the government bureaucracy. This chapter is not a ...comprehensive social history of the period. Instead, it looks at several aspects of the government’s policy regarding health care and rural land and labor as indicators of the social concerns of the oligarchy and its treatment of the population in general. The following chapter continues this examination with a study of educational and cultural development in Carrera’s Guatemala.
As in the colonial period, the welfare of the population was a matter
Production for Consumption and Export Ralph Lee Woodward
Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala, 1821-1871,
03/2012
Book Chapter
The liberals had pinned their hopes for the transformation of Central America into a prosperous and modern republic on the rapid increase of exports of tropical agricultural commodities. As early as ...February 1824, the Guatemalan state government had called on local governments to report on the climate of populated areas, the quality of existing agricultural production, and new crops that might be introduced.¹ In the 1830s cochineal exports grew notably, but the rapid increase in trade the liberals had hoped for had not materialized before they were ousted in 1839.
The commercial policy of the conservative governments from 1839 to
Morazán Again Ralph Lee Woodward
Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala, 1821-1871,
03/2012
Book Chapter
Whatever chances the liberals had of recouping their political fortunes in collaboration with Rafael Carrera suddenly evaporated with the return to Central America of Francisco Morazán. Following his ...defeat by Carrera in 1840, Morazán had gone to New Granada and Peru, where he obtained some financial backing. News of the anti-British feeling in Central America reached him in Lima, along with reports of what he was led to believe was a rising tide of opposition to Carrera’s puppet in El Salvador, Francisco Malespín. Morazán decided it was a propitious time to return to El Salvador and launch a campaign to
The Carrera Revolt Ralph Lee Woodward
Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala, 1821-1871,
03/2012
Book Chapter
Rafael Carrera came into the world in the poor, Candelaria barrio of New Guatemala, probably on 24 October 1814, the son of Simón Carrera and Juana Turcios. There is a slight disagreement over the ...exact date of his birth, for although his baptismal certificate says that he was born on the twenty-fifth, he celebrated his birthday throughout his presidency on 24 October, the latter date also appearing on his tombstone.¹ He received holy baptism on 26 October in the parish church at the hand of Father Antonio Croquer.²
We don’t know much about his family or early life. An anonymous
